12Although I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink; instead, I hope to come to you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.
The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated in English as “joy” or “happiness” is translated in the HausaCommon Language Bible idiomatically as farin ciki or “white stomach.” In some cases, such as in Genesis 29:11, it is also added for emphatic purposes.
Other languages that use the same expression include Southern Birifor (pʋpɛl), Dera (popolok awo), Reshe (ɾipo ɾipuhã). (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators either select the inclusive form (including the writer and the readers of this letter) or the exclusive form (only including the author).
Source: SIL International Translation Department (1999)
Following are a number of back-translations of 2 John 1:12:
Uma: “There is still more that I want to say to you, but I won’t write it in this letter. For my purpose is to come visit you (pl.). So, we will talk to each other lip-to-lip, so that our (incl.) joy is complete.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “I would like to say much more to you but I won’t write (it) now. I expect that I can come and visit you so that we (incl.) can see/face each other talking in order that our (incl.) joy will be complete.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “There are many things I would like to say to you, but I do not want to write them. I want to visit you there so that we might talk together and that our (incl.) joy might be drawn tight.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “There is yet much that I want to tell you, but I haven’t included it in this letter, because if it is possible, I will go to visit you. Then we can converse properly and our happiness upon seeing-one-another will be great.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “There is a lot more that I would like to say, but I won’t write it now. Because I do want hopefully to be able to come there to you. I will be able to talk with you when we are in each others presence so that we can be happy with happiness which has no lack.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “There are many other words I want to tell you. But I do not want to write all the words here on the paper to send to you. Because I await the time I will go there, we will see each other in order that we will speak together and then all the greater will be our joy.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Yatzachi Zapotec: “There are many things for me to write to you, but I do not want to write more on paper, because I want to come where you are, and when we are together I will give you words from my mouth so we will be very well off (happy).”
Eastern Highland Otomi: “There is a lot I want to tell you, but this is all I’ll put on this paper. Because I’ll probably be able to go there to see you, and we’ll talk together so that we won’t lack happiness.”
Isthmus Zapotec: “I still have much which I would write to you but I don’t want to write it but rather I am hoping to go where you are so we can chat. Thus we will become happy together even more.” (Source for this and two above: John Beekman in Notes on Translation 12, November 1964, p. 1ff.)
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).
I have much to write to you: as in 1 John 1.4 the verb “to write” refers to the fact rather than to the manner of communication; hence, for example, “I have much to tell you” (Good News Translation, similarly in several other versions). Such a rendering has the advantage of avoiding the suggestion that John wanted to write but not to use paper and ink, a contrast that is certainly not intended.
I would rather not use paper and ink, or ‘I do not want to do so by means of (or using) paper and ink,’ ‘I prefer not to tell you those things on paper (and) with ink.’ I would is in the aorist, which in letters is often used with reference to the present, that is, to the time of writing.
Use paper and ink is in this context synonymous with write. The receptor language may prefer another synonym such as ‘to put on paper,’ ‘to write a letter (literally a paper)’; compare also New English Bible‘s “to put down in black and white.”
Paper referred originally to a sheet of papyrus. The name of any material commonly used in the receptor culture to write letters on may serve as a translation. Similarly in the case of ink (in the Greek literally “what-is-black”) for what one uses to write with.
I hope: in this context the verb has most of the basic semantic components mentioned in the note on 1 John 3.3. Its goal, however, is not one of God’s great promises but a common fact of daily life. Some of the renderings used here are ‘I want,’ ‘I will probably be able,’ ‘I think I will.’
To come to see: the Greek has a rather generic expression for movement towards a person. Specified in accordance with the context, this leads to terms meaning “to visit.”
Talk with you face to face (literally “mouth to mouth”) contrasts with write and use paper and ink. The prepositional phrase serves to emphasize that the talking will imply a personal meeting. Some equivalent expressions in other languages are ‘to speak to you with the living voice’ (Bible de Jérusalem), ‘converse with you eyes to eyes (or lips to lips).’
For So that our joy may be complete, compare comments on 1 John 1.4. In the present verse our may be interpreted as referring to the writer only, a form often occurring in letter writing. But the pronoun can also be taken as including both the writer and his readers. The latter interpretation is the more natural one here, after the reference to a personal meeting and talk of the writer with his readers.
Quoted with permission from Haas, C., de Jonge, M. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on The Second Letter of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Read 12–13 carefully in both Berean Standard Bible and Good News Translation. Compare the two versions.
Section Theme: These verses contain John’s final comments and greetings to close the letter.
12b
I would prefer not to do so with paper and ink:(Meaning) John is not saying that there is anything wrong with using paper and ink. This is merely another way of saying that he would prefer to talk with them face to face.
paper and ink:(Translation) This is an idiom meaning “in a letter.” In your translation you should consider what is the natural way of saying this in your language.
12d
face to face:(Translation) This is also an idiom. It should be translated by a natural phrase for having a friendly personal talk with someone.
12e
complete:(Meaning) As in 1 John 1:4, this means “as great as it can be,” “without any sadness or anything to spoil it.”
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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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